Investors are also mulling a lower-than-expected consumer-price inflation reading.

Late in the trading day, The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's benchmark TA-25 Index fell 0.21% to 989.20 and the TA-100 shed 0.16% to 892.84.

The Tel-Tech 15 Index of top technology issues added 2.39% to 199.74.

And the Real Estate 15 Index fell 0.64% to 353.24.

Israel Chemicals was the most-active stock, dropping 5.9%.

Bank Hapoalim lost 1.5% and Bank Leumi rose 0.6%.

Hapoalim
BKHYY, -0.20%
said in a statement to the TASE that it was in advanced talks to buy 75% control of SDM Bank JSC of Russia at a price that values the whole company at $142 million.

Teva Pharmaceutical
TEVA, +1.09%
was up 2.5%. The drugmaker and Active Biotech AB,
ATVBF, +0.00%
(ACTI) the Lund, Sweden, biotechnology company, said they're enrolling patients in a second Phase III trial of laquinimod, a treatment taken by mouth for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Within the technology index, several boldface names were among the top percentage gainers.

Ceragon Networks,
CRNT, +3.25%
the provider of solutions for wireless carriers, leaped 5.4%. The company and Alvarion
ALVR, +0.00%
will join ECI Telecom and deploy a WiMax broadband network across Denmark, ECI said on Tuesday. Alvarion rose 3.7%.

And AudioCodes,
AUDC, -0.32%
the specialist in voice-network technologies, tacked on 4.2%.

Drugmaker Perrigo
PRGO, +0.67%
jumped 4.5%. The stock rose 2.9% on Wall Street on Tuesday after it said it would spend $10.5 million to expand its Allergan, Mich., headquarters and add 400 jobs over five years.

On the macroeconomic front, the 0.1% CPI recorded in June "caught market participants by surprise," Excellence Nessuah said in a morning note.

Absent a 10% decline in prices for fresh fruit and vegetables, the consumer-price index would have risen by 0.6%, in line with most forecasters' predictions, the investment bank said.

The CPI is up 2.3% in 2008 to date and 4.8% for the past 12 months. That 12-month figure is above the Bank of Israel's target of 1% to 3%.

The Israeli business daily Globes suggested, however, that the reading for June gives Bank of Israel Gov. Stanley Fischer "some maneuvering room for the [August] interest-rate decision, and he may decide to keep" the benchmark rate at 3.75%.

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